Five Miles to Heaven
by gocubsgo17
Summary: Booth's POV: Missing scenes and the future. Chapter 14: Epilogue: The wedding
1. Chocolate

**A/N: So this is a songfic (Which I'm not sure if I like writing better than just a normal fic) based on One eskimO's songs from the album they have released in the US. For some stupid reason I can't figure out, iTunes won't let me buy the UK version and I'm not too happy about it. Since I heard their song, Kandi, on the S5 finale, I've fallen in love with the band. Anyway, the songs in the chapters won't go in order of the album but in a way that I could write a decent story about. Some chapters will feature parts _or _all of the lyrics. **

**The story is from Booth's POV and should end up about 13 or 14 chapters long. I'm going to try to keep working on _Long Nights _while posting this but I have this story completely planned out and I'm stuck on _LN _but I have an idea where I want to go with it...I think...So, let me know what you think of the first chapter! Please and thank you! :)**

* * *

Chocolate

_I'm just sitting in the clouds today  
I hope to God it doesn't rain  
'Cause everyone's got problems and I know I've got mine  
But at least I've got the stars with me_

_Then I fall down, I just fall now_

_Can I have your attention please?  
We're like chocolate in the sun  
And in this heat, we are melting into everyone_

_She doesn't have the heart to say  
That she hasn't got the heart to stay  
She's got her problems so I stay out of the way  
I'll be sitting in my cloud today_

I sat up in my bed and I could barely breathe. My heart felt like it was coming out of my chest and I realized I was dripping sweat. As I felt a drop fall off my nose, I realized I needed to see her.

I knew this feeling before. She was scared and she needed, or she thought she needed, to get away. She kept rattling on and on about those Malpoopoo Islands or whatever. She seemed really excited about it. She hadn't acted like that since the last time we went undercover **and **let her carry a gun.

I checked my clock and it said I needed to be back at the Hoover in four hours. I sighed, knowing there was no way I was going to get back to sleep after that dream. I dressed for work and got a snack, figuring I'd stop at the diner for breakfast later.

I got in my car and backed out of my parking spot. Four thirty on a Wednesday morning meant the roads were relatively empty. I drove on autopilot and I realized about twenty minutes later, I was in Bones' apartment building. I knocked lightly on the door. I didn't expect her to be awake but it scared me when she opened the door.

She was standing there, dressed in her PJs assembled from random pieces of clothing I had left over the years and her hair was in full bed head style.

"What are you doing here? Do we have a break on the case?" She said quietly. I was surprised that I woke her up. I hadn't knocked that loud.

"Nah. Sorry, Bones. I didn't mean to wake you up." I started walking away.

"No, stay. I was having problems sleeping anyway. Why are you up?"

I shrugged. "I had problems sleeping too."

She stepped back and I took my cue, coming into her apartment. I fell onto the couch and she sat next to me.

Looking for something to talk about, I said, "So tell me about those Mapuku Islands you were talking about earlier."

"Maluku," she corrected, "It's in Indonesia. I'd really like to go. I've been talking to the people funding the project-"

I cut her off. I suddenly didn't want to hear anymore. "So…you're leaving?"

She thought about her answer and then shrugged. "Not yet. I haven't been invited to join the expedition," she said like I should've known."

I nodded.

"I'm just…fed up with murderers and bodies of people who didn't have to die."

I kept nodding. What was I supposed to say to that?

But I knew the answer already.


	2. Astronauts

**A/N: Don't worry, this fic may be pretty angsty right now but it'll be _super_ fluffy by the end. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 take place during the finale and everything else takes place after. If you'd like to know exactly where the chapters fall within the episode let me know, and I can give you some sort of idea. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**

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Astronauts

_It's a funny old world  
Full of headaches in turn_

_So whenever you need space  
I guess it's okay  
When you're floating away  
To feel nothing at all  
We can be astronauts  
If you want to  
Get out of here_

"Yes, as soon as I have concluded the murder investigation I am currently on, I will fly out to Maluku. No, thank you…for giving me this opportunity. Yes, it will be a welcome change for the next year. Okay…thank you…goodbye," she spoke into her phone.

I eavesdropped on her conversation; I needed to know what was going on. I stood in the door way of her office, waiting for her to notice me. But, she was back to staring at her computer, probably writing her report.

"So you're really going?" I asked.

She turned and nodded. "We both decided we would. You just told me, not a half hour ago on the bench, that going back to the Army was what was best for you," she defended herself. "I just...need to go. I need this."

I held up my hands in defeat. "I was just wondering if it was a done deal now."

She nodded again, turning back to her computer.

I sighed, knowing I wasn't going to get much more out of her.

"Here's my report. I wanted you to have a copy before I gave one to Caroline."

She turned away from her computer again to look at me. "So you came all the way over to the Jeffersonian to give me a copy of your report, just to turn back around to give a copy to Caroline back at the Hoover?" She questioned, "Why? That's an awful lot of backtracking…"

I shook my head. "Because….I don't know," I said, heaving a sigh.

She nodded slowly at my answer. "If you don't mind, I'm going to finish typing up my report now. I'll bring you a copy soon."

I nodded once and left. Why did it have to be so hard?

Why was I already missing her like she's gone?

"Booth!" I heard her call from her office, despite the fact I'm already to the doors of the lab. I jogged back.

"Yeah?"

"So…if I go to Maluku…You're not going to change your mind and stay in D.C.?"

"Bones, go to Maluku. I'm going to Afghanistan." Why was I telling her to leave? I didn't want her to go. I didn't want to go. But, I couldn't move on if I see her every day. I needed to know there were other women like her out there.

But, I already knew the answer to my search wouldn't be in Afghanistan. It would be in an Indonesian jungle.


	3. UFO

UFO

_If I'm such a super hero  
Why does it feel like my feet can't leave the ground?  
If I was a steam train flying  
Why do you stand in my way to slow me down?_

_My bills are overdue again  
I know who's to blame  
And I feel like skipping town  
Slowing down_

"Colonel Pelant? Yeah, this is Agent Booth…no, no, not Sergeant Major. Not yet, anyway…yes, who do I talk to to confirm my new position?" I sat in my office on my phone. Bones was definitely leaving and now, so was I.

"Oh, well I accept the Defense Secretary's request that I return to service….yes, I will go train soldiers…no, one year. That's it. I have a son. One year is long enough….Thank you for understanding…Okay, fax the paperwork to my office and I'll send it back once I get it taken care of…Yes, Sir."

I set the phone back into the receiver and leaned back into my chair. I was going to Afghanistan. I needed to think of a way to tell Parker. He'd be proud. But who was supposed to cheer for him at his hockey games? Rebecca hated hockey. I guess she'd have to learn to love it.

"Booth?" Bones stood right outside my office.

"Bones!" I shouted, waving her to come in. "What's up?"

"Well I was thinking…"

"You do that a lot, Bones," I said, smiling at her. She barely smiled back, nodding at my joke.

"Why would Caroline say we're running from each other? I'm going to Maluku to uncover inter-hominid remains and you're going to war. Yes, we will be away from each other but we're coming back in a year. This doesn't have to be our last case together…right?"

I suddenly saw what she was getting at.

"No, Bones. This is our last case," I told her quietly.

Her mouth fell open. "Why?" she shouted at me.

"I can't. I want to come back here in a year and solve more murders with you, Bones, but…I can't move on when you're around. Seeing you everyday…knowing you don't want what I do…I need to move on. And if you're here, if, in a year, we're right back here, seeing each other every day…I can't. I need those fifty years with someone. I'm sorry, Bones, but things need to change, between us no matter what. Either our work relationship or our personal one. So…no, Bones. This is my last case with you."

She wasn't looking at me anymore, but fiddling with her visitor badge on the waist of her skirt.

"I am not capable of…feeling what you feel. Love, to me, is not feasible anymore," she said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because…love ends badly."

"It doesn't have to."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"You're all I want."

"You're with Dr. Bryar anyway!"

I shook my head. "One date. That was all. I called her Bones. She knew. You're all I want," I repeated.

Her eyes were wet now and I could feel mine becoming the same way. For a second time, I was putting myself, and my sanity, on the line.

She still wasn't looking at me. But she said, "Okay. Show me love doesn't end badly."

I stood up and walked around my desk and pulled her up into a hug. She was still crying and I felt horrible for making my decision before really talking to her.

"I still have to go," I reminded her softly. I felt her nod against my chest and I pressed a kiss down onto her head.

"I know. I need to go too. We'll talk though, right? I'll have access to computers. We can email."

"We'll talk. As much as possible. I'm sorry, Bones. I wish this was going to be easier."

She pulled back from the hug and shrugged just a little. "What's a year, in the grand scheme of things?"


	4. Hi Low and In Between

Hi Low and In Between

_One day it just snowed I guess  
And they closed the roads into your heart  
You came home like a dead star  
No light left, no loving anymore_

_Years ago, you sent a postcard,  
It's the one that always made me laugh  
It said "Send for reinforcements  
'Cause there's too much here for me to love"_

She was broken and it became my job to fix her. Her past, her horrible past, was what was keeping us apart. The terrible people who were supposed to love her hurt her. Her parents left and then her foster parents were abusive. She didn't ever deserve anything like that. She deserved everything life could give.

I was already six months into my deployment when I had my first (and only) day off. I was due to get a new bunch of soldiers to train the next day and my boss had suggested I take a day off to rest up. Luckily, I only had to share a tent with one other soldier, Joe Carver. He was a nice guy and only a few years younger than me. He had a family. He had what I wanted so bad. Sure, I have Parker, but having a son is just not quite the same as having a family. His wife, Madeline, and their twin daughters, Abigail and Olivia, were sending him mail constantly. I got letters from Parker on a weekly basis and I would respond whenever I could.

Joe would come into the tent, armfuls of postcards, pictures and letters from his girls. He'd show me everything his daughters would send him and I'd show him what Parker would send me on occasion.

"You got a girl?" Joe asked that night.

"No, Carver, you know that. Parker," I explained.

Joe laughed. "No, man! I mean, a woman! You got a girlfriend back home or something? You've never actually told me."

I laughed with him. "Oh, well, kinda. Maybe. I'm not exactly sure. But she's not exactly back home either."

He looked at me, waiting for me to tell the full story. "Bones is in Indonesia."

"Bones?" he clarified, scrunching up his nose.

"She's an anthropologist, works with bones. So, I call her Bones."

"Well, what's her real name?"

"Temperance Brennan."

"The author? Madeline loves those books!"

I smiled at him. I leaned back on my cot and slid a dusty shoe box out from under it. I opened it up. A small calendar was on top and I marked another day off. I set that off to the side and then emptied the rest of the box out on my cot. Pictures, drawings and letters spilled out and I sorted them. Parker's mail on one side and postcards from Bones on the other. I scanned through Parker's mail again, even though I had read his letters and stared at them on a daily basis. I set them back in the box and I read through Bone's postcards.

I assumed she only had time for a short message on a postcard. She was probably keeping busy with the remains she had been so excited about. I wrote her letters everyday but I never had enough stamps to send them all at once so I'd pick the best one and I'd take it to the mail office on a Saturday morning before my afternoon training sessions with the kids. They were hardly men.

'_They have named the specimen. The people here remind me so much of you. Hardly any objectivity at all and constant speculation.'_

'_The rainy season has arrived and I'm sure you would be thrilled to have even just a small rain shower where you are.'_

'_The volcano is smoking. The locals doubt anything major will happen but I just wanted to warn you. And I promised you I'd be safe, so I'm staying away from it, despite my intense curiosity.'_

'_I took a page from your book and took a day off for myself. I went to the beach. It's the clearest water I have ever seen. It's beautiful. I wish you could be here with me.'_

'_There was a riot in the small town a few miles away. Nothing major but for some reason, I thought of you and I just hope you're staying safe.' _

'_I miss you.'_

'_I love it here. Maybe I will use my vacation days that I will gain after being reinstated at the Jeffersonian to come back here for a more relaxing visit.'_

'_I went snorkeling today with a few other anthropologists. I saw a fish that oddly reminded me of you. I wish you could've gone snorkeling with us. I'm sure there's nothing like this where you are in the desert.'_

'_The islands really are beautiful. I wish you could leave your post and come for a visit. You'd really enjoy it. I'm counting down the days until I get to see you at the reflecting pool.'_

'_Send for reinforcements because there's too much here for me to love.'_

I chuckled. This was the last postcard I had received from her. It was dated almost a month ago.

I hadn't received anything else from her since even though I had sent her at least three letters with another one in the base post office right now. I knew she was probably just busy or maybe even ran out of postcards to send.

I put the postcards back in the box and told Joe to meet me in the mess hall for dinner later. I hated eating alone.

Taking a walk to clear my head, I ended back at the post office. You couldn't really call it an office. It was more like a double wide trailer with a few desks and shelves of mail to be sent everywhere around the world.

Every soldier on base had a mailbox here. I had just checked mine yesterday but I decided to check it again, just in case Bones had sent me another postcard.

Sure enough, reaching into the small box, I pulled out a small four by six card with a picture of a beach and the water on the front, a smoking volcano in the background.

Eagerly, I flipped over the card and read her short message. It almost seemed like a joke. Her words were extremely abnormal for her but it was unmistakably her handwriting.

'_I love you.'_

_

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_**A/N: How 'bout them Flyers? Normally, I'm a Chicago girl all the way (Except for the White Sox) but I have to cheer for Philly this time around. Just because of Booth! Hahah anyway, let me know what you guys think! Any words of wisdom and kindness are welcome here! :)**


	5. Kandi

Kandi

_You've been my queen for longer than you know  
My love for you has been  
Every step I take  
Every day I live  
Everything I see_

_And if I get things wrong  
Don't want you to think that I'm running away  
But I heard from Joe about this guy and I want to know_

_What did he say?  
He called me baby all night long  
What did he do?  
He called me baby all night long_

She told me she loved me. Well she wrote it. But I could almost hear her say it. It was wonderful. I just wanted to see her. But I could only settle for talking to her. Not long after I got that last postcard, she sent an actual envelope.

There was another postcard inside. The picture was of one of the main cities on Ambon, the large island. The only message on the back was _62 913 756 4237. _The other item in the envelope was a prepaid calling card.

I could take a hint.

Six time zones behind her would make the calling process a bit more difficult though. It was already past midnight meaning she was probably just getting ready to start her day. I went to the pay phone in the mess hall anyway.

The mess hall was unusually empty and silent when I walked in. My heavy boots echoed in the room as I made my way across the hall to the pay phone. I followed the necessary steps to activate my card and dialed the number on the postcard.

"_Hi, Booth."_

I perked up. "How did you know it's me?"

"_I'm with everyone that has this number except you."_

"If you're busy, I can call back later."

"_No, I'm not working today. I've decided to work on my next book today and I'm taking a ferry to Ambon tonight with a few new friends for a night out."_

That surprised me. "A night out? I thought you were there to discover inter-homa-something remains?"

She laughed. _"Inter-hominid remains. And I worked yesterday. The planning committee has added several more anthropologists to the dig, making the work space very crowded when everyone is there. We have all agreed it would be more feasible to work every other day. It's actually quite enjoyable. That's why I snorkel so much."_

"Wow, Bones. Sounds like you're vacationing more than working."

"_Speaking of working, don't you have soldiers to teach in a few hours? I would suspect you haven't been to sleep yet."_

"Nah, I don't need too much sleep. All I do is yell at people all day. It's not too exhausting."

"_Booth, you need to be alert just in case something goes wrong. You promised you wouldn't be a hero."_

"I know, Bones. You don't need to worry about me. Trust me, I'll go to bed as soon as I'm done talking with you. Since I got the post card this morning, my mind hasn't exactly been with me."

"_I don't know what that means."_

I chuckled. I missed hearing her say that. "It means I couldn't stop thinking about you. And now that I've talked to you, I feel much better."

"_I'm glad to hear that, Booth."_

"Five more months, Baby. We'll see each other soon."

"_Don't call me that."_

"Why?"

"_I'm not a baby."_

"I know that. It's not supposed to sound mean. It's affectionate."

"_Okay…"_

"I love you."

"_I love you, too."_

"You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you to actually say that."

"_I would estimate since you received the postcard from me with a written admission of love."_

I laughed again. "Yeah, Baby. I'd say that's about right."

"_I'm not going to get you to stop calling me that, am I?"_

"Probably not," I said, smiling wide.

"_Okay, go get some sleep. Call me tonight if you can. I'll be up all night."_

"Okay, I love you, Bones."

"_I love you too. Be safe, Booth."_

"I will. Bye, Bones."

"_Bye."_

_

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_**A/N: For the phone number Bones wrote on the postcard was mostly made up. I did do some research on phone numbers in Indonesia but the Wikipedia page was just so confusing! So, I'm sure it's probably not right so please forgive me if you do know exactly what the number should look like and I completely slaughtered it. So anyway, please let me know what you think!**


	6. Astronauts Part 2

**A/N: Okay this chapter is from both Brennan and Booth's POV and uses the song Astronauts again. I really love this song and I couldn't get it out of my head. This section of lyrics really just made me think of Bones for some reason so, here's Astronauts (Part 2)!**

Astronauts

_You float like a baby  
Looking for safety  
Somewhere on Mars_

_But if I'm mistaken  
Your body's in England  
But your head's in the stars_

I walked down the hallways of Oxford University unaware of my surroundings. I was walking side by side with Dr. Scott, one of the anthropologists I had made friends with while on Maluku. We had the inter-hominid remains from the islands on a gurney and we had the easy task of wheeling Ricky, as he had been named, down the hall and to a room to prepare him for display in the museum. Okay, I wasn't pushing Ricky down the hall, some interns were.

The day was May 18th. Two more days until I was supposed to meet Booth at the coffee cart. I was engrossed in what I was checking on my phone (the weather for my flight, making sure I wouldn't be delayed) when I ran into someone.

"Sorry," I called over my shoulder.

I decided looking up when I walked would be appropriate to avoid any unnecessary injuries.

We stopped in the prepping room to supervise the interns and other doctors get Ricky ready for viewing. Dr. Scott and I were to do one large press conference with the remains in attendance and then escort them back to the museum for the new exhibit.

I checked and rechecked my reservations for my flight in two days to Washington and even checked to see if there was a way I could take an earlier flight. All flights were booked and I was stuck in Oxford for two more nerve-wracking days.

"Dr. Brennan? It's time for the press conference," Dr. Scott said, pulling my head from the clouds. I nodded, slipped my phone back into my pocket and followed her to where the cameras and microphones were waiting.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

I was sitting in the mess hall. Two more God-forsaken days left until I could go home to see her. I had talked to her on almost a daily basis since that first phone call but it wasn't like seeing her, holding her. It was almost time for me to head back to my tent to get ready for one last day of training men that really shouldn't be here. Most of them were too young; half of them looked hardly a day older than Parker.

There was one TV in the mess hall and they usually could only get a British news station which was fine with me. Most of the news related back to the States anyway so I could figure out what was happening back home.

"_And we go live to a press conference now to Oxford University, where our Lindsey McCrutchen is standing by. Lindsey?"_

"_Hi there, Jaime. I'm at Oxford U where our own Dr. Erin Scott and Dr. Temperance Brennan of the Jeffersonian Institution of Washington D.C. will be detailing their finds of a set of inter-species hominid remains they uncovered over a year's time in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia."_

"Whoa!" I shouted. "Everyone shut the hell up! My girl's on TV! Turn it up, soldier!" I pointed to a young man who I was training and he did as was told.

"_We spent a year unearthing these remains of a new species in the Homo genus which has not yet been named."_ The woman who spoke first I didn't recognize. I guessed that had to be Dr. Scott. Bones still wasn't in frame.

"_We have determined that early Homo sapiens mated with Homo floresiensis to create this new species. It is a remarkable find in the evolutionary chain." _I heard her but she wasn't on the screen. The camera adjusted to fit Bones in the shot too.

"Ha! There she is! That's my girl!" I announced to the men proudly. I got a lot of "Damn, Sarge, she's smokin'!" or "Sarge, put a ring on it before I do!"

I ignored the other soldiers around me and watched her on the screen. She was over four thousand miles away but she seemed so close.

There were more questions for the women on the screen and there were several more shots of the remains, sealed in a plexiglass case.

"_What is the specimen called? There have been reports that it was named," _Another reporter was saying.

"_The species has not yet been named." _ Bones stated.

"_He means what do we call it," _Dr. Scott explained to Bones. _"He has earned the nickname Ricky since there is an Australopithecus afarensis named Lucy. You know, like __I Love Lucy.__" _Dr. Scott told reporters. Bones still had that 'I don't know what that means' look on her face and I never realized how much I missed her.

XXXXXXXX

My phone buzzed in my pocket and, out of habit, I pulled it out of my pocket to check. Angela sent me a message.

**You're on TV!**

_**I know. How are you doing?**_

**We're all fine. When are you going home?**

_**The 20**__**th**__**. I tried booking an earlier flight but everything's booked.**_

**Well, Jack and I are leaving Paris tonight. It's Jack's private plane. We could come up and get you if you're ready!**

_**There is no need. That's a waste of fuel. I'll see you in D.C.**_

**Sorry, Sweetie. Jack already told the pilot we're taking a detour to London. I'll call you when we get there.**

I knew there was no way I could get them to change their minds and let me take my own flight. But I knew being home a day early would give me time to readjust slightly to the new time zone.

**Have you talked to Booth lately?**

_**I talked to him a few nights ago. He'll get back the day after we land.**_

**Good. I'm sure you miss Studly.**

_**Yes. I miss him very much.**_

**You are too cute. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you sweetie. By the way, you're still on TV. Everyone's watching you text instead of answer questions :)**

I looked up and realized Dr. Scott was still taking questions. I stepped off stage, knowing I wasn't needed. Dr. Scott could handle the media on her own. I put my phone back in my pocket and made my way to my rental car to the hotel. I wanted to shower and pack everything before Angela and Dr. Hodgins arrived later. I was startled as my phone rang.

XXXXXXXX

I stood up and pulled a new prepaid calling card from my pocket. Bones and I had used up several hundred minutes talking to each other and now that I knew she was back in civilization, she would have her cell instead of an Indonesian landline.

I activated the calling card and dialed her number from memory.

"_Brennan," _she answered.

"Bones! How's London?"

"_Booth? I'm not in London. I'm in Oxford. London is over an hour away. How did you know I had my cell?"_

"I saw your press conference. Nice haircut, by the way. Why didn't you tell me you changed it?"

"_I didn't think it was important."_

"Oh. Well, it looks nice, Baby."

"_How many times have I asked you very nicely not to call me that?"_

"Probably over a hundred times. When are you going State-side?"

"_Tomorrow. Angela and Hodgins are going to pick me up on their way back from Paris. Apparently, Hodgins has a private plane."_

"Why am I not surprised? Listen, I can't get back earlier but we're still going to meet at the coffee cart, right?"

"_Of course. I need to go. I have to drive and apart from not being behind the wheel for almost a year, I'm not used to driving on the opposite side of the road."_

"Okay, Bones. Be careful."

"_I'm not in the jungle anymore, Booth. I'm fine."_

"Well, drive safe. I love you."

"_I love you too, Booth."_

I hung up the phone. At least she's almost home. I could care less if my plane was delayed. I'm just glad she's out of harm's way, except for the whole driving on the wrong side of the road thing.


	7. Hometime

**A/N: Okay, this is kind of random but I watched The End in the Beginning while I was writing this. Did anyone notice that Jared was wearing Booth's Cocky belt buckle? I just saw that and I've watched that episode like a million times! But I've decided that Jared shouldn't have worn it. Jared's not Boothy enough! Ha!**

Hometime

_Stone throwing I've got nothing to do  
Only hope I got the message to you  
Because if we're lucky we might see the end of the world completely  
And if we do than I hope that it's you waiting there to meet me_

_Collect all your things 'cause it's hometime  
Come on  
Collect all your things 'cause it's hometime_

I sat in an airplane hangar just outside the base and waited for the crew to fuel the plane. We were flying to London first, to drop off a few other high ranking soldiers and to refuel, and then to the States. I had been sitting in the same spot for a few hours and I was getting restless.

"Booth! Come on, man! Let's go!" Joe shouted. He had been in Afghanistan for the same reasons as I was.

I leapt up and jogged toward the plane where Joe was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"We ready?"

Joe nodded. "I can't wait to see my girls. They're gonna be at Dulles when we land. Abby and Liv have probably grown so much."

"I bet Parker has too," I told him.

We walked on the cargo plane and strapped ourselves in. Cargo planes are not my preferred method of travel. They were full of turbulence when there was no turbulence in the air. I sat next to Joe and we talked to a few British soldiers we were taking to England for a while until most of the men fell asleep. I couldn't fall asleep. I was twitchy and nervous. I was afraid to be late to the coffee cart.

The refueling at the London airport took longer than expected. There was an expected rainstorm which could've delayed us even longer. I began to bob my foot up and down, shaking the entire bench he and Joe were sitting on.

"Whoa, Booth. Man, you okay?"

"Hmm?" I looked up. I could hardly pay attention to anything. I felt the cargo plane shift and start up. I took that as my cue to strap myself back onto the bench and prepare for the rough takeoff cargo planes have.

Once in the air, Joe said, "We'll make it to D.C. earlier than expected."

"How? That refueling stop took forever!"

He nodded. There was a storm coming in from the East. We were granted special permission to take off before it hit land."

I nodded and took a sigh of relief.

XXXXXXXX

We landed several hours later and Joe couldn't get off that plane fast enough. He bounded down the stairs two at a time and ran to his wife and daughters, waiting just off the air strip.

I followed behind him and sent a prayer up to God that I was home safe.

Joe introduced me to his family.

"So," Madeline said to me, "What next?"

I knew exactly what she meant. Do I go see my son, or go see my girl waiting at a coffee cart just minutes away?


	8. Slip

**A/N: Get ready for some SUPER fluff. And when I say super, you better believe this is going to be way sappy, way fluffy and probably just a tad cheesy. I'm not thrilled with the way I ended this chapter but I just didn't know where to stop. So tell me what you think. Enjoy!**

Slip

_Slip off my skin  
Fall into bed…  
I'm stayin' in  
With you here inside my head  
Mail me a smile, phone me a kiss, I'm in a dream  
Get me out of this_

_And of all the creatures under the sky  
There is you and I, you and I_

_It's all too much, you're in every little thing I touch  
It's all too real, you're in every little thing I feel  
And it's all such a waste, you're in every little thing I taste  
Come on, come on, come on, come on  
Be strong_

_Think of a time - you name the place  
I'll close my eyes...and now with you we're face  
To face - I see your smile, I feel your kiss  
I'm in a dream, get me out of this_

_The only thing I've never tried  
Is leaving here and suicide_

_And of all the creatures under the sky  
There is you and I, you and I  
You and I, you and I_

_It's all too much, you're in every little thing I touch  
It's all too real, you're in every little thing I feel  
And it's all such a waste, you're in everything I taste  
Come on, come on, come on, come on  
Be strong_

_Let us be strong_

_Never too much  
Never too late  
Never turn away  
Never say die  
Never never never never never  
Never too much  
Never too late  
Never turn away  
Never say die  
Never let it slip away  
Never let it slip away  
Never let it slip away_

_She isn't here_, I thought as I approached our meeting place. Not on any of the benches by the coffee cart. Not taking a stroll around the reflecting pool. _She isn't here_.

So I took seat on the bench nearest the cart and let out a deep breath. There was a long line forming at the coffee cart and I leaned forward to try to see around the line without leaving my seat. I failed and leaned back onto the bench.

I knew she didn't forget. She must be stuck in traffic or lost track of time working on her book. I wanted to hit myself over my head for not stopping by my place to pick up my cell phone.

"Where do you want to sit? It looks like our old spot is taken," an older man said. Looking at him, he had to be in his late seventies or even early eighties from my guess. The woman with him just nodded and looked around. They had stopped in front of the bench I was sitting on.

"Please," I said, standing up, "Sit here."

The man shook his head. "No, son. You were there first."

"No, really. It'll do me some good to stand and pace. I'm getting too anxious," I told him.

The man looked me over, still dressed in my fatigues and I knew my face looked like hell. I was tired and I knew it showed. He nodded once to show his thanks to me and placed a hand on the small of his wife's back to guide her to the bench. She smiled at him before sitting and then smiled at me once in her seat.

The old couple made me think of Bones. Not that she was old or anything, but just the way the old man helped his wife to the bench reminded me of how I pulled Bones along to a scene or guided her into the diner. And the more I thought of her, the more I worried. I was tempted to forget the whole coffee cart thing and go straight to her apartment, but if Bones said she was going to be somewhere, I believed her. She wasn't a liar and I knew she wasn't going to start then.

"So, did you just get back, son? Or just getting ready to leave?" the old man asked.

"Just got back. I've barely been state-side for two hours and I think I got stood up," I joked.

The man laughed. "Doubt it. She'll come. Just gotta be patient," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

I gave him that same questioning look I gave Bones while working cases, the one I got right after she rattled off some squinty mumbo-jumbo.

"How do you know I'm waiting for a girl?"

"'Cause that's what I did too. Right in this spot, too." He turned to his wife and smiled. "Looks like the kid had the same idea we did," he said to her. She grinned at her husband and turned back to me.

"Honey, she's probably just trying to look her best for you. She's gotta get all gussied up!"

I laughed at the thought of Bones getting all done up just to come meet me. "Bones isn't that kind of woman."

"You call your wife Bones?" The woman yelped. "What kind of nickname is that?" she said chuckling.

I laughed too. "She works with bones. It's her thing. She didn't like it and it stuck. So that name isn't going anywhere for a while. She's not my wife either. Just a sort of girlfriend."

"Sort of?" the woman asked.

"Well, I've never officially asked her if we were exclusive. But she told me she loves me. So, now that I've heard that, I could die happy."

The couple smiled and sipped at their coffees while I paced in front of them.

"Dad?"

I whipped around to see my son standing in front of me, definitely a few inches taller than he was a year ago. He was standing in his baseball uniform, mitt and all. He had some infield dirt on his sliding pants and shirt and his hat was making his long, curly, sweaty hair stick out in all different directions.

"Parker!" I scooped him up and hugged him tight. He dropped his baseball mitt and hugged me back.

"What are you doing here, Bub?"

He grinned and started laughing. "You're never going to guess who showed up at my ball game today, Dad."

I stood up and looked around. "Bones?" I called.

"Aw! Daaaaaaaaaad! You ruined the surprise!" Parker whined. I looked around but I still couldn't see her. I finally bent down so I could look my son in the eyes. Sometimes, I couldn't tell if I was looking back at Rebecca or in a mirror, but his smirk assured me that he was more me than his mother.

I gave him what Angela called my 'charm smile' and hoped it worked on the kid who inherited it. "Where is she?" I asked him.

He giggled and then completely burst out laughing. I stood up and put a stern look on but he just kept laughing, now doubled over and running out of breath.

"Parker! You shouldn't laugh at your father like that!"

I spun around again. "Hi, Booth," she greeted me.

I was grinning like an idiot when said my name.

"Hiya, Bones! How come you brought Parker?"

She shrugged. "I figured you were probably coming here first and knew you'd want to see Parker too."

I couldn't stop smiling. "I love you."

She finally smiled back at me. "I love you too."

I slipped one hand to her back and one hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close to me. I kissed her, hard at first but then she slowed it down and turned the kiss into something slow and full of promise, reminding me of the kiss we first shared just outside the grungy pool hall years ago.

While I was busy kissing the love of my life, Parker collapsed onto the bench next to the old couple.

"Finally!" he shouted. The couple laughed and Parker just smiled.


	9. Chosen One

Chosen One

_You might not be the chosen one  
Still you wait for your time to come  
But your faith has taken a tumble  
And your pride is shaken and now and humble no_

_You must know nothing's set in stone  
You must know you are not alone  
Try not to ever hate  
But can't help but overcompensate  
There's a smile says everything's rosy  
Maybe ten percent and it's mostly hell  
You must know nothing's set in stone  
You must know that you're not alone_

_You dream of another world  
Where the guy always gets the girl  
But your life is not like the movies  
You can shoot your way to heroes should we  
Take some time for the underdog  
We should take some time for the underdog_

_The calm ones who get it done  
And it's the brave that will overcome  
Should you listen to your voices  
When they lie and give you no more choices  
Afraid what you're gonna do  
In this phase that you're going through_

After hauling a seventy three inch TV from the store to her car, to her car to her apartment, including three flights of stairs and a tiny doorway, it was my job to set it up.

"Want a beer?" Bones asked after she helped me find the living room over the giant box that had her new TV in it. She asked me what was the best TV money could buy and we went to the store. When she told the man she wanted 'the best one', I thought that guy was going to die right there. It didn't take much convincing by the salesman to tell Bones the bigger TV, the better. We were there for maybe five minutes, but it took me longer than that to actually haul the beast of a TV out to her tiny car. We almost couldn't bring it back.

Then, I had one hell of a time getting the damn TV to her apartment. Jerry, one of the nicer doormen, offered to help me carry it up. But I declined. Bones said it was because I needed to prove to everyone that I was an alpha male but she's been telling me that for years so I knew I didn't need to prove anything.

"Yeah, I'll take a beer," I told her as I started to set up the wall mount.

Three hours and seven beers later, I had the TV perfectly on the wall.

"So…now what? I'm assuming you don't have cable or anything set up yet. What are we going to do with a TV that won't show anything?" I asked.

Bones just smiled and went back to her room. She came back carrying a large box.

"Dad and Russ gave me a DVD player and movies for Christmas two years ago. I'm just now getting around to getting a TV so I can watch them."

I nodded and took the player from her to set up. "So what movies do you have?"

"Not a lot. But I already know which one I want to watch…if it's okay with you."

I shrugged. "What is it?"

"_The Philadelphia Story_."

"It's about Philly? Okay!"

"Well…not really. Just watch it. You'll see." She handed me the DVD and I put it in. I grabbed the remote and sat down next to her.

"Black and white? What happened to the color movies? You got any of those?"

She shook her head. "This one's one of my favorites. I wanted to be Katharine Hepburn."

_So she was like a normal kid, _I thought. I knew, for the most part, pretty much everything about her childhood. The longer we were together, the more she told me. We had been together for almost eight months by the time she decided to get a TV.

"I'll call the satellite company in the morning to set up the channels," she said, changing the subject. I nodded and pulled her closer to my side. She leaned her back to my side and pulled my arm to wrap around her.

She was opening up, becoming more human, as I called it. I kissed her head and she smiled.

"This is all I've ever wanted," she said.

"I know, Baby," I whispered and received an elbow in the ribs from her.

She was asleep barely five minutes into the movie so I turned it off and hoisted her up to carry her to her bed. She curled up in my arms and held onto me for dear life.

"Mmmm," she smiled and groaned as we reached her room.

"You okay?" I whispered. She nodded, eyes still closed and arms still wrapped around my neck.

"Do you love me?" she asked quietly.

I nodded though she couldn't see me. "Do you want me to prove it too you?"

She just nodded again and I grew an odd sense of déjà vu. I couldn't remember where I had seen this before. I shrugged it off and pulled my shirt off. I did the same to Bones until we were both down to barely any clothes. I desperately kissed her mouth one last time before working my way down to her neck and chest.

I woke up the next morning to find her already awake. She was typing away on her laptop, focused on the screen.

"Have a little inspiration from last night?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She giggled. "Maybe," she answered.

I got up and went to the bathroom. I needed to go back to my apartment to pick up some clean clothes before Parker's hockey game.

"I'll be back to pick you up in a few. You should get ready. Parker's game starts in a hour," I said, slipping on my jeans from the day before.

"Stay."

I looked back up at her. "Huh?"

"There's clothes in my closet that are yours. They're clean. A few pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts."

I chuckled. "Maybe I should just move in," I joked.

"You should." It took me a minute to realize she wasn't kidding.

"Are you sure, Bones? Or are you kidding?"

Her voice became clinical. "You spend more time out of the week here than your apartment, Parker told me he liked my apartment better than yours because it smells nicer and I cook more often and…my apartment's bigger."

"So you're serious?"

"I am," she said, still focusing on her typing. I walked over to her, set her laptop on the bed, and kissed her.

"When I can move in?"

"After Parker's game?"

"Well you should get ready then. The faster you get ready, the faster the game will start and the faster I can cancel my lease!"

"You know it doesn't really work that fast. What if Parker's game goes into overtime?"

"He's going to have some motivation to win once I tell him I'm getting rid of my place. He like his room here better anyway."

She looked confused. "Since when has the guest room turned into Parker's room?"

"Since the last time we spent the weekend here and you told him he could put up his Flyers poster! Have you been planning this for a while? How long have you wanted to ask me to move in?"

"A few nights when you called the bathroom 'our bathroom'."

I smiled at her. "Well then…let's go to _our _bathroom and get you cleaned up!" I shouted, pulling her toward the shower.

* * *

**A/N: Okay this would've been up hours ago but my computer crashed and it didn't save! So I had to start all over. I was furious. Anyway, sorry about the delay, hopefully I can get another chapter up by tonight. Let me know what you think! **


	10. Simple Day

**A/N: Here's another chapter with both Brennan and Booth's perspectives. Enjoy some more super fluff!**

**

* * *

**

Simple Day

_Let me tell you 'bout a simple day  
In my own way I woke up at six today  
Put on the coffee machine  
I always dreamed of being a millionaire  
Without a care in the world 'cause I'm losing my hair_

_Dressing up like a model in the shop window  
Even though I know I got it wrong and it don't go  
You get to work to find your boss is in a mood  
Man, what makes him think he can be so rude_

_Forgot to wash your face and your head aches too  
People are staring as they pass you by  
Let it go don't show that you're a single man  
And not a day goes by without a porno mag_

_God damn, if I had only stayed at home today  
I'd be fine to live there rest of my life this way_

I woke that morning and everything felt…different. I looked next to me and Bones was still there. Asleep. In our bed. That thought was still thrilling for me. We had been living together for almost a year. But something seemed…off. She was still there, the room was still intact but I just had this gut feeling that something about today was going to be different.

I tried going back to sleep but we had to get up soon anyway so I laid down to face Bones and watched her, waiting for her to wake up. Twenty minutes later, when our alarm went off, Bones didn't say good morning first.

Instead, she asked, "Why were you watching me sleep?"

"How do you know I was watching you sleep?"

She smiled at me sleepily. "I was awake too. I'm just better at feigning sleep than you are."

"You're better at everything…almost."

She looked offended. "What? What are you better at than I am?"

"Sports…and…peeing standing up," I offered.

"Naturally, most men are more athletic than most women and women don't need to urinate while standing up. That's kind of gross, Booth."

I gave her a big grin and said, "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

She shrugged and rolled out of bed.

"Why would you wake me up?" she asked, pulling the sheets up to make the bed.

I shrugged this time. "I was thinking so loud I'm sure the neighbors heard."

"I don't know what that means."

I chuckled quietly. "Of course not. Basically, I was just thinking a lot. You know, like you could've heard gears turning."

She kept that squinty look on her face until she shouted, "Oh! Metaphorically!"

I walked around the bed and pulled her into a hug. "What were you thinking about?" she said. I could feel her breath on my neck and it made me shiver.

"Today just feels…good, I guess. It feels like a good day." She looked up at me and smiled.

"Good," she said and kissed me. I could hardly contain myself and I pulled her to me as close as possible. I wrapped one hand in her hair and slid the other under the hem of her shirt.

In a move that was probably for the best, she pushed me away.

"We need to go to work," she mumbled, her lips still on mine.

I almost went to dead weight in her arms. I hated when she did that. "Fine. Then you can make the coffee," I said, trying to make it sound like a punishment.

She scoffed and went into the bathroom. "Go make breakfast. I'll be there in a minute."

* * *

I went into the bathroom and listened for Booth to walk down the hall to the kitchen. As soon as I knew he was gone, I ran to the toilet and lost my dinner from the night before.

_Shit, _I knew what this meant. I had been doing this for the past three weeks and it didn't take a high school education to know that I was pregnant.

I don't know why I was so upset. I had wanted this at one point. This was good. I had to repeat that to myself over and over again. _Shit, _I thought again. Now I have to tell Booth. How does one go about breaking news like this? We had been responsible about our intercourse. At least, I thought we had been.

I decided I should at least somewhat confirm my hypothesis by taking a store bought test. I wasn't sure when I bought it but it had been sitting in the back of a drawer in the bathroom for a few months now.

Peeing on a plastic stick is not the most comfortable thing in the world. It is actually quite awkward and seemingly unnecessary. If I had planned head, I would've urinated into a cup and put the stick in there.

Booth knocked on the door. "Baby, come on!"

"Just one minute, Booth."

"Didja fall in?" he called through the door. I did not understand the context but he was laughing hysterically.

"I don't know what that means," I shouted back.

"Okay, Bones, never mind. Hurry, I need my coffee."

I rolled my eyes, tossed the pregnancy test into the sink and went to make coffee for Booth.

* * *

I shoved a half piece of toast in my mouth in one bite. Bones looked at me, both disgusted and affectionate and looked over at the clock on the stove.

"Booth, we need to get ready for work now if we want to be on time."

I nodded and cleaned our plates from the table.

She walked down the hall and shouted, "What suit? I'll pull it out of the closet."

"Uh, pick one. Grab a tie, too!" I called after her.

Once our plates were in the dish washer, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Bones was standing in the walk in closet. "I can't pick out a tie!" she said. She was frustrated. She wasn't one to get frustrated easily, especially over something dumb about my tie.

"Just grab the one Parker gave me for Christmas!" I shouted.

"_The Lion King _tie? Or the tie with Santas?" she called back.

"_The Lion King_," I answered, walking into the bathroom.

"Shit!" I heard her. I glanced behind me but kept walking to the sink to brush my teeth. I pulled my toothbrush from the stand on the counter and turned on the faucet.

"Booth," Bones said from the doorway. I looked up at her. She was worried. But I noticed her eyes darting back between me and the sink.

"Booth?" she asked. She was quiet and nervous. She was staring at the sink now.

"What does it say?"

I looked down into the sink. I shouldn't have been surprised to see the test there. It shocked the hell outta me though.

"Booth, what does it say?" She was nervously tapping her foot on the tile floor.

I looked at it closer and saw the smiley face.

"Bones…"

"So I just have the flu, right? I've been throwing up for a while. It's just some long bout of the flu, right?" She was staring at the floor.

"Temperance…"

Her head snapped up to look at me. She had a nervous smile on her face.

"Is a smiley face…good or bad?" I asked. I knew it meant she was pregnant. But I wanted to know if it was good or bad for her. We had talked about kids, even though it was before we were together.

She came over to me and kissed me. It was slow and soft, like she was still nervous.

"I guess no more field work for a while, huh?" she said, smiling. I let out a deep belly laugh and scooped her up. I was going to be a dad. Again.

"We gotta go tell Parker! He's going to flip!"

She looked at me, growing rational now. "He's at school. Call Rebecca and ask her if you can pick him up from school. We can take him to the diner for a shake or pie and tell him then. There is no sense in distracting him during the school day."

I smiled at her. I couldn't believe it. The woman I loved more than anything in the world was going to have a baby. My baby. I was going to be grinning like an idiot all damn day.

"Let's take today off. Call Cam and say you're feeling sick, which apparently you were and I didn't even know about it. And I'll call Hacker and say Parker's homesick with me. We can just…lay in bed all day," I said, thinking of more possibilities, "or we could go shopping! We'll need a crib and a high chair and-"

"And a bigger house," she cut me off.

"What?" I thought she was kidding.

"Well we can't expect Parker to share a room with the baby forever. Plus a yard would be a bonus," she said.

"Well…" I didn't know what to say.

"Let's just tell Parker first," she said, "We can worry about a house later."

"Sick day?" I requested.

She shook her head. "No. I would expect that somehow Cam or Angela would figure out that we were both faking illnesses today. We would be in serious trouble. Plus, I'm sure Angela would converge on us simultaneously asking how our day was."

I nodded and pulled out my phone. "Rebecca? Hey, would it be alright if Bones and I picked up Parker after school. We have to talk to him about something…what? No, we're not getting married…no, wait, how'd you guess? It's not like we planned…oh, okay we'll have him home by five…yeah, thanks, Rebecca."

I put my phone away and was extremely confused.

"So we can get him from school?"

I nodded. "Rebecca asked me if we were getting married. And then she asked if you were pregnant. It was like she knew."

Bones nodded slowly. "I think we'll be getting a lot of that today."


	11. Givin' Up

**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been working a lot lately and it's kind of killing the muse since I'm just so exhausted from everything. My cousin is also getting married soon and the updates will be delayed for that as well. BUT: I have two days off coming soon so hopefully, I can keep my sanity long enough to get the last few chapters of this going and another chapter of Long Nights up. The song in this chapter sounds kind of angsty when you listen to it, but I'm going to use the lyrics in a positive manner. This one is from both POVs again. Also, I've changed to the present tense. I have a reason and hopefully that reason is at least somewhat evident. If not or you'd like to know why, just ask! Get ready for some more super fluff! Enjoy!**

Givin' Up

_I've woken up to the light now  
And I've hardly had any sleep  
And the song that plays will stay with me all day_

_And I hear it over and over again  
Another one of those crazy days  
And the same old same old may be hard to change  
But I'm ready_

Two days. We've been home for two days.

And she won't sleep. Not for me. Not for Booth. She just won't go down easily. She eats well and her motor skills are developing quite rapidly but she won't sleep.

Yes, she'll nap and one favorite habit of hers is dozing on her father's chest while he falls asleep watching some sort of sports event but she won't sleep for longer than a few hours at a time. Although, according to my research, that's normal.

I guess I just miss having a full night's sleep.

And I want to go back to work.

Cam and Booth won't just let me keep a pack-n-play in my office. They feel I need to actually stay home with Quinn which I find entirely unnecessary. But, according to Cam, it's what other mothers do so she wants me to follow the norm on this one.

I will admit: I do enjoy spending time with her. Quinn looks at me when I speak to her, even though I know she doesn't really know what I'm saying. Booth has this annoying habit of speaking to her in a high pitched voice and using nonsense words. I told him that if he uses his normal voice more, she'll be more likely to recognize him. He has adhered to my wishes on that but I still sometimes catch him speaking to our daughter like that. But, assuming he talked to Parker like that and that Parker developed well and is quite an intelligent boy, Quinn will be fine if she is exposed to that just a bit.

Booth has decided to take a couple of weeks off to help me adjust to taking care of an infant. He has assured me that he knows what he is doing. Booth is obsessed with helping me with Quinn. He has taught me how to change diapers and roll them up so nothing falls out. It is quite handy. Especially since the wipe can become dirty as well.

I prepared as much as I could before Quinn's arrival. I read books and researched online about things that could go wrong or things that could even possibly happen during the birth. I was nervous when I started having contractions and I was assured by several nurses that it was natural to feel some anxiety before the birth of a first child.

I didn't know why I was so apprehensive. I was used to co-parenting Parker with Booth. I didn't understand why everyone thought I would have issues taking care of a newborn. I didn't think it could've been that different from an eleven year old.

I know now that I, unfortunately, was wrong. I wasn't used to the crying when she was hungry or the whining when there was a dirty diaper. But, I am now discovering that each cry is a little different and I am starting to discover that her eyes are bluer than I had originally thought. But, the dark mass of hair on Quinn's head is curlier than mine ever was. She definitely looks like Booth more than I do.

I could hear her whining through the monitor. She's probably hungry. I rose from my desk to find Booth sprinting up the stairs.

"Stay there, Bren. I'll get Q."

I really do hate that nickname; Q, not Bren. I actually like it better when he calls me that than Bones. I just hate it when he calls the baby Q. Sort of. Actually, it's quite endearing for her. But I had already expressed my disgust to Booth once and now he makes up random names for her just to annoy me. "You really should call her by her full name before she gets confused. I'm not sure I like her being confused before she can even speak! Plus, she's hungry anyway!"

Booth stops half way up the staircase. "Well, if she is, I'll have you come up. Just listen through the monitor."

I know there's no way to fight him on it and I go back into my office. Not two minutes later, his voice came through the monitor. "Bren, uh, if I could feed her, I would. But for some reason, God didn't give me that ability."

I laugh at him even though I know he probably can't hear me from Quinn's room.

I slowly walk up the stairs; I'm still sore from the birth a few days ago. The doctors said I would return to normal soon but I'm still getting used to not having the heavy belly in front of me. Seeing my feet again is a weird phenomenon.

"If your God gave you the ability to feed our daughter, you'd have breasts," I tell him. Booth's eyes become wide and he willingly passes Quinn to me.

XXXXXXXXXX

"If your God gave you the ability to feed our daughter, you'd have breasts," she tells me. So, now that I have that horrifying image in my head, I hand Quinn to Bones.

She smiles at me and sits down in the glider to feed the baby. I walk out of the room. I have to tell Parker not to disturb Bren and the baby so he doesn't get an eyeful of something he doesn't need to see.

I have to stop though and I look back at my girls. It's still weird that I can say that. I can hardly believe that I have a daughter. I smile at Bones and head down the stairs to go to the basement.

We bought a house about two months before Quinn was born. Bones lucked out since she was so pregnant that she couldn't lift anything. I did all the unpacking and she did all the bossing around. That was fine by me because there was no way I was going to let her do anything in her condition.

Parker had his own room, Quinn had a room, Bones and I had a _huge_ room and there was even a guest room and Bren's office. Parker and I basically have the basement to ourselves. Half of it is his toy room and the other half is where Parks and I watch our sports. We have a giant back yard too. I want to get some of that chalk they use for football fields and mark off fifty yards or so for Parker, his friends and I can play some real ball without having to go to the park or up to the elementary school, but Bones isn't really thrilled with that idea.

I creep down the stairs slowly so I could try to sneak up on my son.

"Dad, I'm not down there anymore," he says. He's standing at the top of the stairs in the kitchen holding a popsicle.

"Who said you could have that?" I ask. I'm not about to admit that he scared the shit out of me.

"Bones did." I cringe. This is what I wanted to avoid. "Why does Q have to burp when she's done eating? Bones tried to explain it but…" he wrinkles his nose, "She used her big words again."

I laugh. I'm just glad that she was done feeding the baby. "Q's gotta burp 'cause she eats too fast. Just like you."

"Oh. Why didn't Bones just say that?" he asks.

I shrug. "Guess what?"

"What?"

I roll my eyes. "You didn't guess."

"Uh…we're getting a dog and mom's gonna let me stay with you and Bones and Quinn?"

I was not expecting that. "Do you want to stay with me and Bones and Quinn?"

He nods. "Why wouldn't I? I wanna see my baby sister on more than just weekends." I made a note to talk to Rebecca about that when she cones to get Parker tomorrow.

"Well, guess again."

He sighs. "If I give you a bite of my popsicle, will you just tell me?"

I laugh. "Fine." I take a bite of the banana ice and say with my mouth full, "Pops is gonna be here soon."

His eyes widen and he drops his popsicle. "Really?" He's practically jumping and he runs to the front door to watch for his great-granddad.

"Let me know when he's here," I tell him. I want to go up stairs to see if Bren's had any luck getting Quinn to go back to sleep.

"Dad! He's here!" I'm hardly half way up the stairs but I can see out the window that Pops' taxi is in the driveway. I offered to pick him up but he refused and told me I needed to stay with Bones and Quinn.

Parker opens the door wide and didn't even bother to close it. I jump back down the stairs and go to help Pops inside.

"Hiya, shrimp and little shrimp! How's the even littler shrimp?" I smile at him and take his bag.

"The baby's good. She doesn't really like to sleep when we want her to, but we're doin' alright."

"Alright, shrimp, hold on. Do you really live here or is this some kind of joke? This house is huge! I almost made the cabbie leave. Plus, I can't find my glasses anywhere so I don't even know the baby's name yet? Who sent out these birth announcements 'cause I can barely read the dang thing!"

"That was Angela! She said she knew Bones wouldn't tell anyone about Quinn. Angela's an artist so she did all the announcements by hand! They're really pretty. For girly stuff," Parker tells him.

"So what's the baby's name? Ya lost me in all that girly art talk, sport," Pops shouts, still standing on the front sidewalk.

"Quinn. With a 'Q' not a 'K' like it sounds," Parker clarifies for him.

"Booth? Why is the front door open?" Bones is standing in the doorway, holding Quinn. I swear, as soon as she gets that baby in her arms, there's almost no way she'll put her down. She's more capable of love than she thinks.

"Dr. Brennan!" Pops shouts and shuffles over to her.

She looks confused. "Why are you calling me that? We, metaphorically, are related now."

I know she told me she couldn't change. And I never said I wanted her to. But I can see the change in her that makes me love her even more.

Pops laughs and sticks his arms out. "Give her here! Lemme see her!"

Bren suddenly gets this overprotective look and hold Q closer to her body.

"Uh, Pops, you know, we should go inside and shut the door. The air's on and Bones has allergies," I say, hoping that at least he'll have a seat before he attempts to hold my daughter under the eye of her very protective first time mother.


	12. All Balloons

**A/N: More fluffy goodness! Yay for fluff! Sorry, this should've been up last night but right as I was about to hit save, my computer died and I had to retype over half of it. Sorry about the delay. There might be more delayed updates ahead though. My aunt and cousin are flying in tomorrow from Cali and apparently, I'm the only person in my family of a bazillion who can pick them up from the airport. So, I'm spending the day with them tomorrow so I probably won't get to write or post. But I'm going to write as much as I can when I can! So have no fear! I will update…(I don't know what to rhyme. I suck at rhymes.) when I can! Thanks for all of your lovely reviews! They make my day! Enjoy! :)**

All Balloons

_It's only five miles to heaven  
With all the usual stops  
I took the right directions  
But I'm farther than I was at the start_

_And you keep telling me this story about some killer bees  
Seems I've gone crazy and they're trying to kill everybody and me_

_So whatever comes will come  
And maybe we're all balloons full of air  
And the reason we're deflating is to remind us that the ground is there_

"Okay, baby, here we are," I say to her as I pull Quinn and her carrier out of the back of my SUV. She's asleep but I was talking to her the whole way here. It's a Sunday morning and it's Rebecca's weekend with Parker, so today, it's just Quinn and I at church today.

I put her carrier down on the floor next to my seat and pull her out. She's starting to wake up now and grab her pacifier out of the diaper bag.

"Oh, how precious! How old is she?" A woman behind me asks.

"She'll be seven months next week," I tell her. She ooh's and ahh's over Q for a few minutes and even brings a few other women over to see the baby. This happens every week. If Parker's with me, he can charm them over and holds their attention until mass starts. But then there are the Sundays where Bones absolutely refuses to go with and I'm on my own.

Bones will come to church with me and Q if she's being especially fussy or if I beg a lot. We've made a pact that she won't make any type of comments during church about her views on religion but, she has the entire car ride home to tell me what my religion does wrong. It seems to work fine for the most part but the worst one for her was when Quinn was baptized. She thought it was okay that since she was standing next to the priest, she could ask for the reasoning behind everything he said or did and then had some sort of anthropological response for what it really meant.

She's completely awake now and finds the urge to play peek-a-boo with me right as mass begins to start. She's giggling hysterically and I'm trying to find some way to keep her entertained but quiet too so I don't disturb the rest of the congregation.

Quinn realizes I'm not paying attention to her and starts crying. People stare, practically scolding me for either not keeping her quiet or sitting in the cry room in the first place.

I hate the cry room. It's full of moms who have rambunctious children and don't pay attention to them. It's a soundproof room in the back of the church, with windows to see the altar and speakers in the ceiling so the parents can hear Father Walter. Quinn's drawing more and more attention the louder she gets. The old woman in front of me turns around and says, "you know, her mother could've kept her at home." I roll my eyes and take Quinn back to the cry room.

The smell hits me like a brick wall and I realize I'm not the only parent here today with an infant. Dirty diapers are practically falling out of the full trash can and that's when I notice Quinn needs a change. I really wish Bones had come with me this time. I could've used some help. I haven't actually heard an entire mass or sermon since before she was born. Not that it's a big deal or anything. God knows I'm trying and I guess I earn some credit for actually showing up to church.

I add Quinn's nasty diaper to the pile on top of the trash can and take a seat in one of the chairs. I call the cry room the Siberia of the church. We're practically a mile from the altar and I can barely see what's going on, not that I need to see. I'm perfectly fine with staring at Q and watching her stare at herself in the little mirror attached to her carrier. She sees me watching and I start making goofy faces at her. She gives me an all-gums smile at first and then starts giggling.

She looks like Parker when she laughs but when she's focusing on something, she's got that Squint thing going on. I'm perfectly fine with that too. I'm glad she's more Bones than me. She looks like her too. Her nose, lips and even her ears are just like Bren's. Her blue eyes get bluer every day and her hair is already growing past her ears. Q's hair is so dark, it's almost black. But, if it hits the sunlight just right, she almost has a tint of red in it.

I've been paying so much attention to my daughter; I didn't even realize that a deacon has come back to the cry room to give us communion. After that, mass was over as soon as it had started. And thank God, too, because that room was in need of a garbage change and air freshener.

I approach the priest and ask him if he's doing confessional today. He says no, but he's willing to stay and listen to me. The confessional is locked so he asks if I mind just sitting in a pew to talk.

Father Walter is a kind old man. He reminds me of Pops almost. He asks if I want a true confessional or just to chat. I choose chatting because to me, it would almost seem awkward to have a formal confession without all the holy stuff that goes with it.

"So, what's on your mind?" he asks, watching me take Quinn from her carrier. I sit her on my lap and hold a doll for her to play with.

I tell him about Parker and how I tried to do right by him and then I tell him about Quinn and my situation with Bones. I've asked her on several occasions to marry me. Now, I went into this knowing she doesn't believe in marriage but I plan on asking her as much as possible without extremely annoying her until she finally accepts. She's stubborn enough to where I know she won't just give in to make me shut up. She'll either accept at some point or say no every time for the rest of our lives.

I tell him about the people I've killed. I tell him that I'm an FBI agent and a former Army Ranger. I tell him that I can't even count how many people have died because of me. I tell him how guilty I feel for making someone lose a son, daughter, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover.

After about fifteen minutes of telling my life story, he finally says, "You've done nothing wrong."

I'm confused now. "Wait…what?"

"The way I see it, it's not your fault your son's mother wouldn't marry you and it's not your fault your daughter's mother doesn't believe in God or religion. You killed for the right reasons, to protect yourself, your loved ones and your country. There's no reason for you to feel any sort of remorse for the life you are leading. You're a good man. That's all God asks of you."

I nod and thank him for the conversation.

Quinn and I arrive soon after my talk with Father Walter.

"Booth, is she hungry?" Bren asks instead of a greeting.

"She might be. She hardly fussed when we were gone and I changed her diaper so she should be okay for a little while longer," I tell her.

She just smiles at me and turns her attention to Quinn. She takes our daughter anyway and goes to the kitchen. I follow and sit down at the table next to Quinn's highchair.

Bones is chopping a banana for Quinn and sees me at the table, watching Quinn bang her hands on the tray to entertain herself.

I give Quinn a small smile and look at Bones.

"Is everything alright?" she asks. She's done cutting the banana and adds it to the mushy baby cereal that Q loves so much.

I nod and look back at Quinn. She can see her mom making her something to eat and she's following Bones with her eyes, just waiting for her lunch.

Bones walks over and pulls up a chair to Quinn's highchair so she can feed her. Quinn eats quickly, like we haven't fed her in ages.

I smile at them. Watching Bren and Quinn together is one of my favorite things. Bren still says she doesn't know what love is but her 'emotions change radically' when she just looks at Quinn.

I tried telling her that's love. Bren still doesn't get it but I know she feels all sorts of love for our daughter.

"Tell me what love is, exactly," she says, like she was reading my mind.

I try a different line of reasoning this time. "It's the way I hold you just before we fall asleep, the way Parker holds Quinn when she's really tired, the way you'd do anything for Quinn, the way we kiss just before you pull me into the shower with you. I could go on?"

Bones just nods but she doesn't look at me.

"So what you're saying is…there are several different kinds of love. The love between Parker and Quinn is different than the love between me and you?"

"Yes, bingo!" Quinn laughs at me and smiles back at Bones before taking another bite of food.

"She has your smile," Bones observes. She finally looks at me and says, "So do you still want to get married?"

I'm confused again. "Not if you don't want to," I tell her.

Bones shrugs. "Well, despite the fact that marriage is an antiquated ritual in your religion and the fact that humans aren't meant to be monogamous, I have accepted the fact that neither one of us want to date anyone else and that this…sacrament in your religion would mean a lot to you and I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Just willing?" I tease. I can't even believe she's saying this.

"Our discussions about love have proved to me that you are not about to walk out on me or our daughter so I can only accept your promises as truths. I will marry you as long as we don't get married in a church," she bargains.

"Deal!" I shout. I stand up and wait until she's done giving Quinn a bit. Then I pull her up too. I kiss her and thank God, she kisses me back. We stay like that until Quinn shrieks for more food and sticks her hand in the bowl of nasty mush. Bren pulls away and gently grabs Quinn's wrist before she can make a mess. I hand Bren a dishtowel and she cleans up the baby. Before she says anything, I run up to our bedroom and open my sock drawer. I had hid the ring in a pair of Halloween socks that, when I'm wearing them, are supposed to look like the bones of the feet. I thought it was only appropriate to hide her ring there.

I jump down the stairs two or three at a time and stand in the doorway to the kitchen. She's pulling Quinn out of her highchair and when she sees me, she just stands there.

"Catch!" I tell her and I toss the small box to her. She catches the box with her free hand scolds me like she would Parker for throwing things around the baby. Bren's catching abilities have improved since last month when Parker decided to teach her the in's and out's of baseball. She can pitch a better fastball than I can.

"What is it?" she asks.

"Open it, genius."

She rolls her eyes at me and flips the box open. I couldn't afford much when I bought it. I got it the day after I found out Bones was pregnant with Quinn. I just couldn't convince her to marry me until now. It's just a simple band with a princess cut diamond. Elegant, but not too fancy. I thought Bren didn't need too much; she doesn't like to be all flashy and showy with things like that.

Bren smiles and says, "Aren't you supposed to put it on my finger?"

I grin at her and she shifts Quinn to her right side so I can have her left hand. I slip the ring on and she smiles back at me.

"I love you, you know," she says to me.

"I know," I tell her. "I've always known."


	13. Amazing

**A/N: This chapter just has Brennan's perspective. This is the last chapter but I'm going to write an epilogue (or two). Here comes some fluff with a side of cheese! Enjoy! Let me know what you think!**

**

* * *

**

Amazing

_I feel sweet  
Do you feel sweet?  
It's amazing  
I have no skin  
And I feel everything  
It's amazing  
I feel good  
When you feel good  
I knew I would  
And it's amazing  
I've wanted this for so long  
Now the deed has been done  
We shall rise with the sun  
And spend our time as one_

"Nondenominational churches in DC," I say as I type on my computer. I know the best way to make Booth happy is if we get married in a church. It would be hard for me not to make anthropological observations during the ceremony. Booth was mad at me for a week when Quinn was baptized. I apologized over and over again but he should've known not to let me stand right next to the priest.

The search engine gives me too many results to handle. I grab the baby monitor and quietly walk out of my office. Cam has allowed me to bring Quinn to the Jeffersonian and, thankfully, Booth was too opposed to the idea. He wanted to hire a nanny but I want Quinn with me until she's old enough to go to preschool in two years. And Angela has also been gracious enough to watch Quinn when field work comes up, which was a big bonus because I did not want to stop working in the field.

I shut my office door behind me and make my way to Angela's office.

"I need a favor," I say. My friend eyes the monitor in my hand.

"I get to watch the baby?" she asks. Angela loves Quinn almost as much as her own children.

"No," I tell her and she looks disappointed. "I need help finding a nondenominational church."

"For what?" Angela asks, now forgetting about baby duty.

I look behind me and make sure Booth isn't there. "I want to have our wedding in a church. But a nondenominational one. I don't really have time to look over the thousands of links I found in the search I did."

"Aw, Sweetie! You are going to make Booth one very happy man when he finds out."

I smile. "That's the plan."

Her eyes get big. "So…this means an actual dress?"

"What? I don't understand."

Angela grins at me. "If you get married in a church, you have to have a dress! We can go shopping!"

I shake my head. "No. I do not want a big dress. No."

"Sweetie, who said anything about a big dress? Something simple will be fine. You need a dress though. I'll only help you look for a church if you get a dress," Angela bargains.

I sigh. She's right. It would also make Booth very happy to have a wedding he's always wanted. Even if it means me in a wedding dress.

"Fine. Shopping on Saturday?"

She perks up. "Yes! I'll pick you up at ten. Bring the baby?"

I shake my head. "I'm not going to want to change diapers while trying on dresses. She'll be fine with Booth. And she's hardly a baby anymore. She's almost a year old. She'll start talking soon."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. You're bringing her. I'll change all of her diapers all Saturday and all next week if you bring her. Deal?"

I smile at her and nod. I could handle not changing diapers for a week. I'm ready for Quinn to start using the toilet.

"Look for a church!" I shout over my shoulder as I walk out of her office. She nods and just as I swipe my access card for the platform, Quinn whines through the monitor.

"Dr. Brennan, I could get her if you'd like. My notes on my findings are in the file. I'd be happy to take care of her for just a while, Dr. B," Dr. Bray says.

"Wendell, that's very nice of you, but I doubt you want to change a dirty diaper," I say to him as I walk back down the platform steps. Wendell, who's only been Dr. Bray for a few months now, has been a big help with Quinn as well.

"Oh, I don't mind, Dr. B. Quinn's real easy to take care of." He smiles at me and it's almost as charming as Booth's.

"Okay, Dr. Bray. There are wipes and diapers in her bag and a few toys. If she's hungry, slice up a banana. She can chew on that. If she eats that and she's still fussy, there's a jar of sweet potatoes in her bag as well."

"No worries, Dr. Brennan! I've got it all under control," he says to me as he jogs toward my office.

I turn off the baby monitor and begin to look at the remains.

"Hiya, Bones! Where's my little princess?" I hear Booth behind me.

"You really shouldn't call her that. Technically, she's not royalty."

He laughs. "Well, she is to me. Is she still asleep?"

I shake my head. "Dr. Bray is taking care of her now. I could use his assistance if you'd like to take Quinn."

He doesn't respond but runs straight to my office.

"Bren!" Angela shouts. "I found one! Come see it!"

I remove my gloves and head to Angela's office.

"Booth's here?" she asks as I shut the door. I nod and walk to her desk.

"Look, this place is gorgeous. It's a little chapel downtown. It can be used for nondenominational ceremonies. It's perfect for you guys. Do you want me to call and book it for you?" The chapel is small and would only hold about fifty people, which is fine with me since neither Booth nor I have many people we would want to invite. It has stone walls with ivy covering half the front wall and over the doorway. The doors are made of solid oak panels and flowers surround the small sidewalk to the doors. The interior is just as charming as the exterior. The walls are stone inside as well and the ceilings have banisters. Every window is stained glass and puts beautiful shadows on the walls.

I tell her yes and she asks for the date. "It's not set but Booth wants spring. Or early summer. I'm thinking April. Or even May."

"Okay, I'll call. Go make sure Booth doesn't come in," she tells me. I stand guard at the door.

"Third weekend in April?" she asks, holding a hand over the receiver. I nod and watch my office door for any sign of Booth and Quinn leaving.

"Okay, it's settled. Wanna go tell him?" Angela asks me.

"No, I want to after I have a dress. Shh, he's coming."

Angela hides the screen and we pretend to talk about the case.

"Once you're done with the skull, do you want me to put a face on it?" she asks, trying to hide our mischievous grins. I simply nod and turn to Booth and Quinn.

"Bones, she said dada! Listen. Sweetie, who's this?" He points to himself. She indeed says dada and Booth spins her around and kisses her all over.

"Okay, now who's this?" Booth points to me.

"Mmm – mmmmmma." Quinn tries. I grin, knowing she's incredibly close to speaking.

"Ma-ma," Booth says for her, hoping she can imitate him

She says mama and points a little finger at me. Without asking, I take my daughter from Booth. I hug her tight. I never knew I could feel so much love for one little person.

"We're getting married at Saint Cecilia's. The little chapel downtown. Don't change your mind, Angela already booked it. And I'm taking Quinn with me on Saturday when Angela and I go dress shopping. I need to get a wedding dress and find a dress for Quinn. She'll need something nice to wear," I blurt out, still overwhelmingly happy from my daughter's first words.

"We're getting married in a church?" Booth asks, his grin getting wider.

"A chapel," I correct. And he pulls our daughter and I into a hug. I attempt to hug him back and he kisses the top of my head.

"Thank you, Bren. It means a lot to me," he whispers.

"I know," I whisper back. I lean into his hug and Quinn struggles in my arm, trying to find a comfortable position between us.

"I love you, Bren. So, so much."

"I know. I love you, too."


	14. Epilogue: Amazing Part 2

Amazing (Part 2)

_Now there is no sin  
In anything  
And it's amazing  
I love life  
I hope you do too  
'Cause I love everything  
It's all amazing  
I feel you  
Do you feel you?  
I understand  
When they say we're born again  
'Cause I feel born again  
And it's amazing  
And it's the best thing  
And it's glorious  
It's life changing  
This feeling  
Is amazing  
It's the best thing  
It's glorious  
It's life changing_

_This feeling_

We only sent out twenty invites. But more people are still showing up. The little chapel is packed. Word of mouth must've gotten out that Temperance Brennan was taking the plunge that she vowed she never would. Parker, Hodgins and Wendell are standing at the altar with me and I guess they've noticed that I'm sweating worse than a fat kid on a treadmill going full speed.

"Dude, calm down. She's not going to back out. Ange isn't going to let her," Hodgins says from behind me. I ignore him. I'm just trying to focus on when those doors open. As soon as Angela and Cam and Q come down, it's Bren's turn. I still can't believe this is happening.

"Booth, it's fine. She's going walk down the aisle and she's going to say 'I do'. It's a no brainer for her," Wendell adds.

"Daaaaad! Trust me, Bones looks super pretty in her dress. I saw it! Angela said you're not gonna be able to keep your hands off her!" Parker shouts. I turn around and give Parker a look to keep quiet. Wendell and Hodgins give my son a high five for his comment. I roll my eyes and the doors at the back of the chapel open. My daughter comes running down the aisle to me. As Quinn gets closer, I step forward to catch her as she comes plowing into me. I hoist her up and give her a kiss.

"Hi, daddy," she says to me. She smiles and waves to Parker. He smiles back and waves.

"Hi, Q. How's it going?"

"Good. Mommy comin'."

I nod and set her down beside me. My daughter has never looked cuter. Her dress is white and I can already imagine stains on it by the time we get to the reception. There's a bow on the back of her dress that's decorated with a flower that's probably bigger than her face. Angela did a wonderful job designing the dress. It's adorable. Quinn occupies herself by watching her dress twirl as she spins.

Cam walks down the aisle first and Angela's right behind. Angela designed their dresses too.

"Why did Ange have to make dresses that look _so _good?" Hodgins whines. I turn around and tell the bugman to shut up. But he's right; the dresses do look good on the squints. They're low cut and I can still hear Hodgins panting over his wife's exposed skin.

"Hodgins, so help me God, if you don't keep your mouth shut, I will kill you right here, right now," I warn him. He glares at me but he shuts his mouth.

My tux is making me sweat. Or maybe it's the fact that the woman I've loved for almost ten years is finally going to marry me. It's packed in the chapel too so that doesn't help the heat element. Everyone and their mother from the Jeffersonian and everyone I know from the Hoover are here. I know we didn't invite this many people and once Bren sees everyone, she's not going to be happy.

Max looks at me from the second row and gives me an encouraging nod. Bren refused to let him walk her down the aisle. I know it stung Max just a little bit when she denied his request but she's independent and strong willed enough that I wasn't all that surprised that she said no.

Canon in D started playing and I look to the back of the chapel. Bones starts walking down the aisle quickly. Angela and Cam are gesturing for her to slow down and she, thankfully, notices what the gestures meant. She slows down and smiles at Quinn. It was taking both Parker and I to keep Q from running to her mom.

She looks beautiful. Her dress is the only one that Angela didn't design. She and Cam took Bren shopping and after one very long weekend, Angela proudly marched Bren back into our house with a long garment bag and told me if I peeked at it, I would swiftly lose my manhood. Bren's dress clings to every curve and the sleeves that are just falling off her shoulders just about make me lose it. Her hair is down and the way it curls around her face gives her a glow I've never seen before. Angela and Parker were right. I wanted to go on our honeymoon right now.

I glance at Pops and Jared. They both wink at me and Jared's wife Padme gives me a thumbs up.

I look back to Bren and she is standing in front of me now. She blushes and smiles at me. I give her a big grin. The justice of the peace starts to speak and everyone in the chapel sits. Quinn is hanging all over Bren and Angela gives her a bag of cheerios to eat and keep her occupied.

"I feel extremely odd in this…thing," she whispers and looks down at her dress.

"You look gorgeous, Bren," I whisper back.

She looks around and smiles at Parker before looking confused. Bones looks back at me.

"Why is Parker wearing your belt buckle?"

I laugh quietly so I don't interrupt the justice of the peace who is still talking. "Angela wouldn't let me wear it but she didn't say anything about Parker."

She laughs quietly too and looks back at Parker. My Booth-y _Cocky _belt buckle really is too big on him. It looks odd with his little tux and it looks like his pants are going to fall down. I'm going to take it back from him when we go to the reception. My son is too young to be wearing something like that.

The ceremony moves along fast and not long after we exchange rings, I'm told to kiss Bren in front of everyone. It's not something either of us like to do in public but damn it, it's my wedding and I'm going to do what I want. I kiss her gently at first and, surprisingly, she doesn't hold back.

I pull away from her and she smiles wide. Her cheeks are red from blushing and the justice of the peace announces us as we walk back up the aisle. Quinn toddles after us and pulls Parker along by his hand.

My wife and I stop just outside the church doors before getting in the limo Hodgins rented for us.

"I love you," Bren says to me, "You taught me how to love. I can't even imagine my life without you or Parker or Quinn. Thank you for loving me."

"Why are you thanking me? I'm pretty sure I was in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you," I tell her.

"In that lecture hall?"

I nod. "I still wore my hair slicked to the side and that was before you taught me that, anthropologically, free-thinkers and mavericks always showed some kind of rebellion. That was before my goofy socks, my silly ties and my Booth-y belt buckle."

"I remember that. Do you remember what you asked me?" she said.

"Do you believe in fate?"

"Absolutely not. Ludicrous."

* * *

**A/N: So that's it. But I'm not sure if I want to add one more epilogue or leave it like this. I'm sorry it took so long; I was trying to make this _just right_. And I've been having writer's block on my other active story so hopefully that can resolve itself pretty soon. And hopefully I can write more. My aunt and cousin came in from California yesterday and I've been incredibly busy visiting with them and catching up and I have a wedding to go to for my other cousin this Saturday so hopefully I'll find time in there somewhere! Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!**


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